Nauman Hussain, operator of Prestige Limousine, arrives for his arraignment at Cobleskill Town Court for his involvement in the Schoharie limo crash on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018 in Cobleskill, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren/Times Union)

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A 2001 Ford Excursion enhanced limo owned by Prestige Limousine is pulled from the crash scene on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018. The company's SUV-style stretch limousine crashed at 1:55 p.m. Saturday near the intersection of Route 30 and Route 30A, killing the driver, 17 passengers and two bystanders who were standing outside the Apple Barrel Country Store in Schoharie. (Photo courtesy of WRGB (CBS-6)

Photo courtesy of WRGB (CBS-6)4of29Members of the NTSB survey the scene of an accident that happened next to the Apple Barrel Cafe at Rt. 30 at Rt. 30A Saturday afternoon involving a limousine on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018 in Schoharie, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren
Times Union)5of29

The National Safety Transportation Board released this image of the Oct. 6, 2018, limo crash site in Schoharie, N.Y. in a Feb. 11, 2019, preliminary report. The NTSB is investigating the crash in order to issue safety recommendations to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

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Kim Lisinicchia is shown in her Queensbury mobile home in January 2019. Her husband, Scott Lisinicchia, was the limo driver who died in the Oct. 6, 2018, Schoharie limo crash that killed 20 people, including 17 passengers and two pedestrians. (Photo by Paul Grondahl)

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Shahed Hussain

.9of29The tent containing the wrecked limo from the accident in Schoharie County remains in place behind the Troop G headquarters Thursday Dec. 20, 2018 in Latham, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)SKIP DICKSTEIN/Albany Times Union10of29Lee Kindlon, attorney for the Hussain family, speaks to reporters outside Troop G headquarters in Latham ,N.Y., on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018, Nauman Hussain was taken into custody to face criminal charges in connection with the family's Prestige Limousine service, involved in Saturday's fatal crash in Schoharie, N.Y., that killed 20 people. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)Hans Pennink11of29Lee Kindlon, attorney for Nauman Hussain, speaks to the media outside Troop G headquarters on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018, in Latham, N.Y. Nauman Hussain was taken into custody to face criminal charges in connection with the family's limo service, which was carrying 18 people who died when one of their limousines crashed on Saturday in Schoharie. The driver of the limousine, all the passengers and two bystanders died when the vehicle crashed at the intersection of Route 30 and Route 30A. (Will Waldron/Times Union)Will Waldron/Albany Times Union12of29Nauman Hussain, left, leaves Cobleskill Town, N.Y., court after his arraignment Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018. The limousine service operator, Hussain, was charged Wednesday with criminally negligent homicide in a crash that killed 20 people, while police continued investigating what caused the wreck and whether anyone else will face charges. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)Hans Pennink13of29Shahyer Hussain, the brother of Nauman Hussain, leaves Troop G headquarters in Latham ,N.Y., on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018, Nauman Hussain was taken into custody to face criminal charges in connection with the family's Prestige Limousine service, involved in Saturday's fatal crash in Schoharie, N.Y., that killed 20 people. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)Hans Pennink14of29Nauman Hussain is brought into Cobleskill Town Court for his arraignment on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018. The limo company operator was charged with criminally negligent homicide in a crash that killed 20 people. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)Hans Pennink15of29Nauman Hussain, operator of Prestige Limousine, left, arrives for his arraignment at Cobleskill Town Court for his involvement in the Schoharie limo crash on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018 in Cobleskill, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren/Times Union)Lori Van Buren16of29This shows the Crest Inn Suites & Cottages outside Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018. The location is also the business address for Prestige Limousine service involved in Saturday's fatal crash in Schoharie, N.Y., that killed 20 people owned by Shahed Hussain. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)Hans Pennink17of29

The brother of Nauman Hussain leaves Troop G headquarters Wednesday after Hussain was taken into custody to face criminal charges in connection with the family's limo service, which was carrying 18 people who died when one of their limousines crashed on Saturday in Schoharie. The driver of the limousine, all the passengers and two bystanders died when the vehicle crashed at the intersection of Route 30 and Route 30A.

Will Waldron / Times Union18of29State Police Superintendent George Beach speaks during a press conference to talk about charges brought against Nauman Hussain in connection with SaturdayOs deadly limo crash on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018, during a press conference at Troop G headquarters in Latham, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union)Will Waldron19of29State Police Superintendent George Beach speaks during a press conference to talk about charges brought against Nauman Hussain in connection with Saturday?•s deadly limo crash on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018, during a press conference at Troop G headquarters in Latham, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union)Will Waldron/Albany Times Union20of29Shahyer Hussain, the brother of Nauman Hussain, leaves Troop G headquarters with his girlfriend, left, on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018, in Latham, N.Y. Nauman Hussain was taken into custody to face criminal charges in connection with the family's limo service, which was carrying 18 people who died when one of their limousines crashed on Saturday in Schoharie. The driver of the limousine, all the passengers and two bystanders died when the vehicle crashed at the intersection of Route 30 and Route 30A. (Will Waldron/Times Union)Will Waldron/Albany Times Union21of29Arslan Hussain points out where a new sump pump is being installed at the Crest Inn Suites and Cottages.22of29Kim Lisinicchia, wife of Scott Lisinicchia, the driver of the limousine that crashed on Oct. 6, 2018, in Schoharie and killed 20 people, including 17 passengers, two pedestrians and the driver.Paul Grondahl/Special to the Times Union23of29

Kim Lisinicchia, shown in her Queensbury mobile home in January 2019, holds a photo of her 2008 wedding to Scott Lisinicchia. Her husband died in the Oct. 6, 2018, Schoharie limo crash that killed 20 people, including 17 passengers, two pedestrians and Scott Lisinicchia, the driver. (Photo by Paul Grondahl)

Paul Grondahl/Special to the Times Union24of29Gov. Andrew Cuomo greets state DOT workers in Hudson Falls on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019. Cuomo was there to talk about an expected snow storm predicted to hit upstate, especially the North Country, in the coming days. He also spoke about the Oct. 6 limo crash in Schoharie County that killed 20 people.By Larry Rulison25of29

This is a sample of the “out of service” stickers the state Department of Transportation can place on vehicles that have violations. The stretch limousine owned by Prestige Limousine was placed “out of service” several times by inspectors, who placed a sticker similar to this one at bottom left on the windshield of the vehicle, which was involved in a crash in Schoharie County last Oct. 6 that killed 20 people — the limo driver, all 17 passengers and two people near the scene at the Apple Barrel.

26of29Donna Rivenburg, the mother of Amanda Rivenburg, foreground photo, talks about her daughter during an interview at the Girvin & Ferlazzo law firm on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018, in Albany, N.Y. Amanda was killed in the Schoharie limo crash. (Paul Buckowski/Times Union)Paul Buckowski/Albany Times Union27of29Distraught family members are seen going through objects at the scene of an accident that happened next to the Apple Barrel Cafe at Rt. 30 at Rt. 30A Saturday afternoon involving a limousine on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018 in Schoharie, N.Y. 20 people are reported to have died in the accident. (Lori Van Buren/Times Union)Lori Van Buren28of29

Amanda Rivenburg, an employee of a disability support organization Living Resources, was among the 20 killed in a limo crash in Schoharie on Oct. 6, 2018.

29of29Schoharie County District Attorney Susan MallerySchoharie County District Attorney's office

SCHOHARIE — A county grand jury appears to have finally been presented with evidence in the criminal case against Nauman Hussain, the operator of the limousine company involved in the tragic Oct. 6 limo crash that killed 20 people.

Hussain, whose father Shahed Hussain owns Prestige Limousine of Wilton, was charged with one count of criminally negligent homicide four days after the disaster. Prosectors in the case had six months to bring the case to a grand jury to seek an indictment — a deadline that would have fallen in two weeks.

On Friday, citing an unidentified source, CBS6 reported that a Schoharie County grand jury had been presented with evidence in Nauman Hussain's case.

That would appear to mean that State Police and Schoharie County District Attorney Susan Mallery have concluded their investigation into the crash.

The tragedy occurred when a 2001 stretch Ford Excursion driven by Prestige Limousine driver Scott Lisinicchia blew through a stop sign at the intersection of Route 30 and Route 30A in Schoharie. The vehicle, hired by a group of friends and family from the Amsterdam area for a birthday party in Cooperstown, hit and killed two bystanders in the parking lot of the Apple Barrel Country Store and Cafe before ending up in a ravine.

Lisinicchia and all 17 passengers died from blunt force trauma. Nauman Hussain was charged, prosecutors say, because he knew the limo had safety issues after failing two roadside inspections and knowingly sent Lisinicchia out on the job even though the driver lacked the proper license.

Mallery did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the grand jury, although the county court clerk's office confirmed that one has been meeting and is scheduled to meet again on March 28 and 29 and April 5.

A new grand jury is scheduled to be put in place on Friday, May 3, so the current panel would have to take care of the Nauman Hussain case to meet the six-month deadline.

F. Christian Spies, the chief clerk for the Schoharie County Courts, said his office has no public information about the cases that are presented to the grand jury. Grand jury proceedings are secret pursuant to state law and the "disclosure of the nature or substance of grand jury proceedings is unlawful."

Witnesses who appear before the grand jury are, however, free to discuss the questions they were asked and their answers.

Hussain's attorney, Lee Kindlon, says his client — who goes by Arslan — didn't deserve to face the single charge. His father has not been charged and has been living in Pakistan since before the accident.

"As with most investigations by a district attorney, the grand jury is just a step in the process," Kindlon told the Times Union. "We cannot comment on specific grand jury matters in this case. After months of investigation we remain confident that there was no criminal wrongdoing by Nauman Hussain."

Albany attorney Sal Ferlazzo, who represents relatives of the victims in a civil case against Nauman and Shahed Hussain, said he would expect any indictment that comes in the case within 30 to 60 days.

The National Transportation Safety Board is continuing its investigation into the crash. It filed a brief preliminary report last month that indicated that Lisinicchia tried to avoid a car stopped at the intersection of Route 30 and Route 30A — a strong indication that the Excursion might have been experiencing brake failure.

Larry Rulison has been a reporter for the Albany Times Union since 2005.

His decades-long career in journalism began in 1994 when he was hired as the editor for a small-town upstate New York weekly known as the Canastota Bee-Journal. He later worked at the Fayetteville Eagle Bulletin, the Baldwinsville Messenger and the Adirondack Daily Enterprise in Saranac Lake. He has covered business since 1998, working for Mutual Fund Market News in Boston and later the Baltimore Business Journal and Philadelphia Business Journal.

Larry's reporting for the Times Union has won several awards for business and investigative journalism from the New York State Associated Press Association and the New York News Publishers Association.